


Reminiscent

by Aweebwrites



Series: Hooves and Fins [6]
Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, Demons, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Harpies, Idiots in Love, Kelpies, Light Angst, M/M, Merpeople, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Phoenixes, Romantic Fluff, Selkies, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-07
Updated: 2019-08-07
Packaged: 2020-08-11 16:30:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20156617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aweebwrites/pseuds/Aweebwrites
Summary: The group reminisces on how they first met...





	Reminiscent

**Author's Note:**

> Bruh yah know @Lucariosfish beta-ed this.

By the first snowfall, the dragon den was insulated and blocked off enough to help the dragons keep warm but also have access to fresh air. Both dragons assumed their larger forms as they slept on, Garmadon in the center of their sleeping ring. Nya had long moved into the pool of the lower caves since she couldn’t stand temperatures that low for long. Skylor is with her, keeping her seal skin on for the winter as she always does since it allows her to remain warm blooded. Even though being half Naga as she was meant she wouldn’t hibernate for winter, she’d rather not slip into brumation. Being slow and lethargic all winter is unappealing. Zane thrived in temperatures like this and luckily for him, the cold doesn’t affect Cole at all. They were the only ones free to swim about in the rapidly icing over fjord but they do prefer to keep their friends company and spent most of their time in the caves with them.

Lastly, Jay and Kai moved down to their winter nest with the others just before the snow in preparation for the long winter to come. Usually their kind fly south for the winter but where’s the fun in that? Besides, the south is always packed with creatures of all kinds. It’s both uncomfortable and dangerous. Uncomfortable because territories are so small, especially for harpies like themselves, that if they’re not careful how they shift, they’ll end up crossing boundaries. Dangerous because of humans. They often roam the south for anyone outside of their kind, either capturing them for sale and worse, or killing them. They aren’t the first or last to think of staying back instead to avoid that but not all creatures can handle the winter.

Jay would never be a fan of the cold it seems but he’d take the cold any day over letting his mate go south with him. His mate, an extremely rare and highly valuable Phoenix Harpy wouldn’t even make it to the winter lands. Hunters would have long captured him. Jay burrowed closer to said mate, letting him preen the feathers mingling in his hair as he soaked up his natural heat. He smiled a little when his wing wrapped tighter around him, the talons on his other wing busy rearranging and cleaning his feathers. It wasn’t long before Jay spaces out again, looking at the light from the fire he lit dancing against the cave walls.

Kai almost got captured once before, just before they finally showed interest to mate with each other. It was before he even knew the others…

Back then, he had been apart of a flock of storm harpies and a rather big flock too. At least 70 strong. Storm harpies stick together like that. The bigger the flock, the bigger the storms they brought. He was the runt of the whole flock. He didn’t know where his parents were but he had been adopted by two normal harpies. Ed and Edna raised him until he can fly- but then the Storm Flock decided that they wanted him with them since he was a storm harpy too. Of course Ed and Edna wouldn’t have it so they left things up to him to decide. He was just a chick and they filled his mind with adventure and storms and fun! Of course he’d choose them! But then, they left that day and he could never return. Not only didn’t they let him, especially with his mastery of lightning despite being no more than a chick, but he was so young, he couldn’t dream of remembering where they were. It was agony. His spur of the moment decision cost him his true family. And so, he grew with the group, learning to stay out of the way of the bigger harpies, only being called upon to increase or direct the lightning of their storms. They quickly became the dominant flock of all harpies. Well, all but the Phoenices but they’ve never come across them before.

Then they did.

“It’s dangerous to fly any further. Why are we going through hunter territory?!” Jay had heard one of the lesser harpy say to another as he lagged behind for his safety.

“That’s why.” The other harpy had gestured to the ground and Jay looked, his eyes wide as he spotted the hunters surrounding a brilliant flame, all of them holding up shields against the heat.

One of the hunters at the back pulled a bow taunt with an arrow then released and a pained scree echoed. Jay’s eyes widened once the fire diminished a little, revealing the phoenix harpy standing there, an arrow protruding from his shoulder, blood dripping down from his vividly colored wing. Jay looked at him, at the flock, horrified.

“We- we have to help him!” He found himself blurting out and several of them looked back at him then laughed.

“We look out for the flock and the flock alone kid. That’s how things work.” A gray harpy said to him and he frowned.

It wasn’t like that at all. Everyone in this flock only cared for themselves. They leave the sick and injured behind to die. They were no better than the baser creatures!

“Hurry up, kid. Flock leader will be pissed if you get left behind.” One of them spoke as they quickened their wingbeats.

Jay watched them fly then looked down at the Phoenix the hunters were closing in on, seeing them stumble, barely able to stand. His eyes flashed once he made his decision at last.

“No.” He says, coming to a hover and they looked at him flabbergasted.

They yelled at him when he suddenly allowed himself to fall, angling his body and adjusting his wings so he could dive faster to where the hunters had pulled out a net. He lands before the bloodied Phoenix then screeched loudly at the hunters, wings flared wide and protectively. This made the hunters pause before laughing.

“What? Little rainbird wanna help out his little friend?” One of them teased but Jay stood firm.

“Get… Get out of… Here…” He heard the Phoenix say then looked back at him.

He was in pretty bad shape. Blood was running from his right eye and heavily from their left shoulder where the arrow was still poking out from and right thigh. He had to stop the bleeding before-

“Ah!” Jay yelled as an arrow grazed his side and he was quick to hold it, dropping to his knee with the impact.

“Last chance. Scram or we’ll have a double catch today.” The head hunter says with a smirk, walking ahead with a large net.

Jay glared up at him, at them all. He was always being told what to do, when to do it and why. He never was able to make his own decisions and he finally did this time, to help someharpy. He wasn’t going to turn back on that decision. He was going to help him if it’s the last thing he did! He was more than some tool!

The hunter’s smirk dropped once his hair began standing on end. Once all of their hairs did. He looked around then back at the storm harpy whose eyes were glowing now as it stood then began to slowly back up. He wasn’t some fool. The aura of danger had kicked in his fight or flight instincts. The harpy screeched loudly and there was suddenly lightning like rain, each flash brighter than the last, the booming thunder muting their screams. Jay turned his glowing eyes to their vehicles, destroying them too, melting the metal with the intensity of the bolts, leaving them as pools of boiling metal. The lighting finally ceased and Jay panted from where he stood, only black ashes on the ground remaining where the hunters once stood. He wavered on his feet from overexertion then shook it off. He looked back at the Phoenix harpy where he had passed out and knelt to check up on him.

He’s still alive but he’s still losing blood. Without question, he pulled out the woolen fabric he always kept on him, the only piece of his adoptive family he had left. He couldn’t risk pulling out the arrow in his shoulder but he already pulled out the one in his thigh and he had to wrap it up. As he did that, a portion of his flock came down.

“That was some light show. Come on. Flock leader is already mad you disobeyed.” One spoke.

“No.” Jay says without looking back at them, tightening the makeshift bandage.

“What?! Listen here you little-” The female promptly shut up when Jay glared at her from over his shoulder, eyes and freckles glowing faintly as lightning began arching off his body.

“I said no.” He says lowly. “I’m not going anywhere with any of you. I’ve left the flock.” He says and the group looked intimidated and terrified.

“You’ll regret this! Just you wait!” One yelled as they quickly flew off.

Jay looked down at the Phoenix then looked up, contemplating where he would take him to recover. He had no home after all. He hadn’t for a long time. But he couldn’t say there. Not when others would come to see why the hunters haven’t returned. But he was too drained to fly for long…

Luckily, he didn’t have to. A large white dragon had arrived on site and while he was wary, he knew enough about dragons to tell that they were good, protectors of their world. That and he seemed to know the Phoenix. He went with the dragon, only to see if the Phoenix would be ok. That was how he met the others. The centaur, Cole, had come up to him to thank him after his side was bandaged up, thanks to the dragon and a demon who startled Jay. He assumed they went on to take care of the Phoenix harpy.

Cole had brought him to the warm water mer Nya, who was his sister. He found it a little hard to believe at first but then he noticed that when her hair shifts, he could see feathers. She thanked him profusely and he had never been one to be thanked and praised so that was an experience on its own.

“Kai’s such an idiot! I told him not to go off on his own! Look where his hard headedness got him!” The warm water mer hissed, tail flicking back and forth in the shallow end of the pool though the worry was clear on her pinched face. “If he dies, I’ll bring him back just to kill him.” She growled and Jay only blinked at the fierce mer as she continued her angry rant about who he’s assuming is the phoenix.

She was like a storm churning, waiting to be let loose. Jay… He liked that.

Back then, he couldn’t help but think of how fierce and amazing she was. That is, until he saw Kai. It was an accident really. Or- a planned accident. It was the first night in their lair. A cave that would be considered small for all of them. But it was cozy. Despite that, he didn’t feel like sleeping, not when he had so much on his mind. He had wandered out to the front of it and sat there, thinking about the flock, about the hunters, about this group of odd creatures. There was a small green dragon he spotted but he keeps out of sight. They were… Nice. But he didn’t want to let his feelings influence him again.

The moment he knows that the Phoenix is alright, he’ll go off. He has to find somewhere to settle down, have to consider staying for the winter. He didn’t want to go south and risk running into the flock again or hunters. He knew they had their ways. They’d be looking for him. He had to get to a safe place. He had-

“Here you are.” Jay jolted as he whipped around to look at the Phoenix with wide eyes, noticing he was bandaged up, but going by the red seeping through the white of the bandages on his shoulder, thigh and face, as well as the fact that he was brought here just a few short hours ago, he knew he shouldn’t be out on his feet so quickly.

“What are you doing?! You have to rest!” He insists as he got to his feet, his talons there tapping on the ground lightly as he fussed over the Phoenix.

“Yeah, yeah. In a sec.” He says, waving off his concerns with his good wing. “Look, I wanted to thank you for saving my tail feathers back there.” He told Jay who blinked then shrugged.

“It’s what any decent creature would do.” Jay says, glancing away.

“Yeah but decent creatures are hard to find in this day and age.” The phoenix says, tilting Jay’s chin up with a talon, a flush filling the storm Harpy’s cheek. “Especially ones so cute.” He grinned and Jay blushed even harder, his heart beating a mile a minute.

“I’m Kai.” He whispered softly, brushing his scaled fingers of his left hand against Jay’s cheek.

“I'm… Jay…”

And it was all history after that.

<3

“You alright?” Jay blinked out of his thoughts then looked up at his fiery mate.

He smiled then nodded.

“Yeah. I’m good. Just remembering some stuff…” He whispered, reaching up to trace the scar over his eye.

Luckily, they could save it back then. Kai chuckled as he held onto Jay’s taloned hand carefully.

“It’s been a wild ride all the way through.” He mused, nuzzling their noses together. “But getting here was well worth it.” He whispered and Jay grinned widely, all but having hearts in his eyes, the chill of winter long forgotten.

“Awww…” They looked across at the mer and half selkie with a flush on their face but they were long used to this.

Their flock was one who supported them always.

“Remember when Kai was trying to finally ask Jay if he would court him?” Cole spoke up from the other pool as Zane adoringly combed his claws through his hair that was only getting longer.

Just slightly past his shoulders now. It makes him look even more rustic and untamed, a look Zane found wildly attractive.

“Ocean’s brine yes I do.” Nya laughed. “He obsessed over a courting gift so much that when the time came, he didn’t have anything but words. Then the idiot got jealous when Jay was asking me what he was doing and scorched off Jay’s primaries. Sure his explanation got them together but if the idiot listened to me, he would have known Jay didn’t give a damn about gifts.” She smirked as Kai huffed.

“Still don’t.” Jay murmured, pressing a kiss to Kai’s chin and the Phoenix couldn’t hold back his purring chirp.

Jay laughed then tackles him for a kiss.

“You’re one to talk though Cole. I still remember the first time you saw Zane…” Nya teased and Cole’s cheeks gained a dark green colour as Zane perked up, interested. “You two were so oblivious! Cole literally just stood there when you washed up, staring at you with hearts in his eyes. And when he finally snapped out of it and helped us hold you up so we could make sure you were ok and you just started up at him and you’re both staring like idiots-”

“It wasn’t like that at all!” Cole blurts as a blue flush filled Zane’s cheeks.

“Then tell us how it happened, Romeo.” Skylor smirked and Cole huffed.

“Fine. Yes, I stared but it wasn’t just like that.” Cole began, all eyes on him.

<3

It was much deeper than that. That day, when Jay had raised an alarm, when they had seen the limp white figure being pushed in by the current, Cole was cautious at first, obviously. He wasn’t very trusting and very protective of his new herd. But then Nya turned the figure over and Cole had stared for other reasons. They looked like nothing he’s ever seen before. He was so pale, ivory even. The splashes of light blue scales along his body, at his finned ears, his long, almost white lashes were glistening in the bright summer sun. Everything about him had Cole’s heart speeding up as his stomach tied itself in knots.

Kai smacking him over the head with his wing snapped him out of it and he finally galloped down into the water, noticing that it was pretty cold. They were checking him for injuries but needed him lifted. He was much bigger than Nya so his strength was needed. He picked him up gently, walking further in the water so his chest would get submerged but he could breathe. As Jay and Kai checked the mer from above and Nya below, he woke up. He blinked up at Cole slowly and the Centaur’s mouth went dry at those brilliant, vivid sky blue eyes. It’s as if they had captured the clear summer sky.

Zane remembered that day, too. He had been so tired from fighting the current that brought him to their spot that he had passed out from exhaustion. It was so sudden that he had no chance against it. But when he came to, he saw the centaur looking down at him, his brown eyes wide as his coal hair brushed his ears. His strong, lightly stubbled jaw, the gentle look he held, how carefully he held him… Zane had no chance against not developing an immediate crush. Then he spoke and…

“Hi… I’m Cole… Are you alright?” His low, gentle voice asked and Zane blinked, eyes widening as his heart skipped a beat.

He opened his mouth then almost smacked himself when he forgot he needs to breathe air to talk. He was quick to close his gills and take a breath through his nose.

“Yeah… Tired…” He got out and a worried expression crossed the Centaur’s strong features before he smiled.

“Well you’re with friends now. You can rest easy.” He reassured him and Zane was sure he had some kind of sappy smile on his face.

Just like the one he wore now. He purrs, nosing along Cole’s neck and Cole returns it with a croon, a clawed hand coming up to pull him closer.

“Hmmm nevermind. We know how it happened and that’s all that matters…” Cole murmured, brushing his webbed fingers against Zane’s cheek, his heart melting once he smiled adoringly up at him. “You own my heart, snowflake.” He whispered to him softly and Zane bumped his nose against his, smile happy and carefree.

“And you own mine, my mighty stallion.” Zane teased and Cole laughed, pressing their lips together as his tail flicked back and forth in the water.

“What about you two?” Kai asked his sister and Skylor as Jay buried his nose against his neck, warm and happy with both of Kai’s wings around him.

“Who, us?” Skylor says, looking at Nya who grinned at her. “You don’t need to worry about that.” She hummed, Nya sticking out a red tongue at Kai’s suspicious look.

“What does it matter? We all have our partners, they’re all here, we all love them and we all know what it took to get here.” Zane pointed out, letting Cole nuzzle his neck. “We may all be family but we don’t have to share every detail.” He spoke then giggled as Cole licked his sensitive ear fin.

“Zane’s right.” Jay hummed.

“When isn’t he?” Cole huffed, proudly.

“When he thought jellyfish would be a good snack for a cold water mer that’s completely unequipped to handle it.” Skylor pointed out and Zane flushed blue.

“Well I was right! I’m just allergic to stings… And eating jellyfish… But it was tasty!” He defended.

“Maybe so but it wasn’t worth the heart attack you almost gave me.” Cole says drily. “Luckily the effects and swelling weren’t long lasting and the hooks were pretty easy for Nya to remove.” He huffed and they laughed at the embarrassed mer.

___________

Jay was soundly asleep that night in the cocoon of bright, warm feathers, not a sound escaping the six. Zane and Cole were asleep at the bottom of their pool, the Kelpie laying on his side with Zane sleeping in his arms, his head resting against his chest, his hands curled close to his mouth with their tails coiled together. Nya and Skylor was very much the same but with Skylors’s tail being shorter, Nya coiled her in her tail instead.

But Jay’s peaceful sleep was soon interrupted by shifting.

“Hnnn what?” He slurs, blinking his eyes open then looking up at the mischievous glowing amber-gold eyes of his mate.

“Come with me real quick.” He says as he stood and Jay whined, the loss of his feathers allowing the cold to chill his feathers. “Shhhh.” Kai hushed then hopped out, beaconing him to come along.

“Kai, please. It’s cold.” Jay whined, wrapping his wings around himself.

“It’ll be worth it. Please?” Kai begs and Jay paused, looking over his pleading expression then sighed and nodded.

“Fine.” He says, hopping out and walking over.

Kai grinned then spread his wings, flying up to the higher levels of the cliff, Jay biting back his displeased whine at flying when it was so cold as he followed after him. Higher, higher, and higher still, until a sharp left and they were out of the cave systems and in the lightly falling snow mid air. Kai grinned at him then flew towards the cliff top, landing there and looking at him expectantly.

“Alright. We’re out here in the cold. What now?” Jay asked, landing before him then wrapped his wings around himself.

“Nothing.” Kai says and Jay blinked at him before his feathers raised on end in anger, lightning arcing up over them. “I just wanted to see how much more gorgeous you would look in the snow.” He adds softly and Jay flushed.

"That’s still not a good reason to bring me out here.” Jay huffed, even though his feathers flattened again.

He shivered as a cold wind blew but then blinked once Kai’s warm wing wrapped around him, a low glow starting up around him as he increased his heat.

“You know I love you, right?” Kai asked softly, wrapping both wings around his waist and Jay flushed more as he looked down.

“Of course I do. You’re an impulsive idiot though.” Jay says and Kai winced. “But so am I, so I guess we fit. I love you too.” He adds, looking up at Kai again and he grinned, pulling Jay closer, resting their foreheads against each other as he gently rocked them.

Jay rested his talons on Kai’s shoulders then smiled.

“You know, this is kinda romantic.” He murmured and Kai grinned wider.

“Good.” He whispered as he pressed a kiss to Jay’s forehead.

He hummed once he did, both of them out there in the quiet winter night, rocking together as snow lightly drifted down around them. One thing was sure: there’s no one else they’d rather be with.


End file.
